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(No ModeL) 7 Sheets-Sheet il.

G. E. TIBBLES. l SEWING MAGHINE.- 110.274.056. Patented Mar. 13,;11883.

(No Model.) Y 7 Sheets-Sheet 2.

C. E. TIBBLBS.

SEWINGMAGHINE.

No. 274,056. Patented Ma.1.13,1883.

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C. E. 'I'IBBLES'- SEWINGMAGEINE.

110,274,056. Patented MaI-.13,1aaa.

A (No Model.) 7 sheets-sheet 5.

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SEWING MAGHINE.

110.214.056. Paten-tea Mar. 13.1883.

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(N e Model.) 7 Sheets-Sheet 6.

C., E. TIBBLES.

SEWING MAGHINB.

No. 274.05m Patented Mar. 1s, 1883.`

` (No Model.)

7 Sheets-Sheet 7.

C. E. TI-BBLBS.

SEWING MACHINE.

Patented Mar. 13,1883.

ZE. /6 W UNITED STATES PATET eric'.

CHARLES E. TIBBIiES, OF BURLINGTON, IOWA, ASSIGNOR TO THE TIBBLES Y SEWING MACHINE COMPANY, OF SAME PLAGE. l

SEWING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATIONIforming part of Letters Patent No. 274,056, dated March 13, 1.883.

` Application led May 20; 1882. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, (7H/is. EDWIN TIBBLES, ofBurlington, in the `county of Des Moines and State of Iowa, have invented certain Improvements in Sewing-Machines;fand I hereby declare the following to bea full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a bottom plan of the bed-plate and operating mechanism. Fig. 2 is a side elevation, partially in section to expose somo of the interior parts. Fig. 3 is an end view of the head ofthe machine with the face-plate re- 15 moved, and partiallyV in` section'- to show the contained parts and bearings. Fig. 4 is a plan view of the upper tension. Fig. 5 is a def cached View lof the feed-bar and operating mechanism. Fig. 6 is a plan, showing the 2O shuttlerace and lubricating devices. Fig. 7 is a perspective view ofthe shuttle. Figs. 8,

9, and 10 illustrate the feed-operating cam.

Fig. 1l is a detached view of the cross-head which connects the shuttle-lever with its operating mechanism.A

pin of the locking mechanism at the ends ot' the main shaft. Fig. 13'is a view of the coinpressible sleeve with a spiral groove. Figs. 14

and 15 show tapering stud and split sleeve to 3o form spindle for shuttle-lever. Fig. 16 shows cover to oil-receptacles in bed-plate. Fig. 17

is a section through an oil-receptacle in the bed plate. Fig. 18 is a view of the bracket to support the shuttle-lever. Fig. 19 is a vertical y longitudinal sectio'n through the feedoperating cams. Fig. 201s a verticalusect'ion through the shuttle-bar -operating mechanism on the line ma; of Fig. 21. Fig. 2l is a vertical section through line y y of Fig. 20. Fig. 22 illus- 4o trates the split end ofthe shuttle-lever. Fig.

23 is au enlarged perspective view of the shuttle. Fig. 24 is an enlarged sectional view of the bearings of the moving shafts to take up lost motion. Fig. 25 is a diagram illustrating the form of the face ofthe shuttle in relation to the form of the shuttle race.

i My invention relates t0 that class of sewingmacbiues known as shuttle-machines,77 and has for its object to siniplifythe construction' cof the machine and enable the operator to Fig.`12 is the operating.

work the machine with greater facility and certainty than heretofore. r

My invention consists in certain elements of Y l novel construction and arrangement ot' parts.

In order that those skilled in the art' may 55 make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe the exact manner in which I have carried it out. y

ln the saiddrawings, A is the bied-plate of the machine, and B the main shaft. Y

U is the shuttle-operating lever, which is sustained to the bed-plate bynneans of the bracket D,secured by screws 61 61, and braci ing the spindle upon which said shnttlelever oscillates. VThe forward end of the main shaft 65 `on uits inner face a semioircular slot or depression, 5l, about one hundred and eight-y degrees in length. The cam 'LL/has projecting from it, 70 at a point shown, a stud, 52, which, when said cam is placed loosely upon the shaft B, enters the slot or depression 51, so that there isa lost motion as between the two cams equal to. the distance of half a revolution. y, i

rlhe cam iislaid out as follows: The Working-face ofthe cam for about three-eighths ofa circle struck from the center 94-that is, from to 9l-is on a true circle. The portion from 92 m93 is .also a true circle struck from cen- 8o ter 94 on a radius about three thirry-secoin'ls` of an inch less than the opposite curve. The points from 90 to 92 and 91 to 93 are joined on a curve of greater radius than either ot' the other radii. Thecam u' is laid out as follows: 85 The working-face is divided vinto four equal partstwo on different radii and tivo on the saine radii. The portion 95 96 is struck from the center 99 on a radius equal to the radius of 9U 91 in n2. The portion 97 98 is struck on 9o a radius onequarter of an inch less than the portion 95 96, and these two curves 95 96 and 97 to 98 are joined on acurve of greater radius than the radii of curves 95 96 and 97 98. Y Hence it will be observed that there is a dc-f 95 cided difference in the shape of cam u and cam u, and this lack of identity of shape has a very important bearing on the successful prac# tical operation of my invention. Ihe canisu n2 work in a yoke, M', attached. to the feedxoo ward by a positive movement., and the fourth point of contact retractin g the feed-bar, whereby I obtain a four-way positive-motion feed movement. Within the yoke attached to the l feed-bar isa movable cross-head, I, which forms one of the bearing-faces for the cams, and which by means ofan adjusting screw-bar, 9, can be made to approach and recede from the fixed end of the yoke M', thereby increasing or diminishing the throw of the feed-bar.

The outer end of this adjusting-bar 9 in the throw ofthe feed-bar and yoke strikes at each reci procation an abutment, 4, to limit the travel of the feed-bar in one direction, while the feed-bar itselfstrikes an abutment, Q, at the opposite end, to limit the throw of the feedbar in thek opposite direction. By this construction the relative movement caused by the throw of the cams is always maintained as between the two abutments, and thereby the length of the stitch is made absolutely certain at each throw, regardless of the direction and the length of the stitch, or the direction in which the machine is moving and at what speed the machine may be moving, for there is no lost motion in the throw of the feed-bar, it being made absolute by bringing up against the abutments, as before described. The lost motion occurring between the cams by means of slot 51 and pin 52 enables the cam u' to adjust itself automatically, so that, regardless of the direction in which the ily-wheel may be turned, the feed-bar will always feed the goods in the same direction.

When it is desired that the feed of the machine shall be in the direction in which the.

fly-wheel moves-that is, from the operator when the wheel moves from the operator and to the operator when the wheel moves toward him--the loose cam u' is fixed to the drivingshaft by means of the set-screw O, which passes into the center of the end of the shaft and operates the spring-pin Z', which has cross-pin z passing through slots t t in the shaft and .beyond its circumference, which cross-pin is made to enter a recess, 75, in the outer face of the said loose cam and allow a very limited amount of lost motion, as seen in Fig. 10. When in this position the feed of the machine will invariably be in consonance with the direction in which the ily-wheel is turned, and on account of the limited lost motion, due to recess 75 being larger than cross-pin z, the machine feeds in perfect time with the other operating parts of the machine.

On the shaft B, adjacent to the fly-wheel, is an eccentric, E, for operating the needle-bar by means of a strap and arm, S, in the usual manner. Next to this eccentric H, I place an operating mechanism for the shuttle-carrying lever C. Twoeccentrics, G G, are xed to the shaft B, and upon these ride a reciprocating cross-head composed ot' the vertical pieces F F', having bearing-faces for said eccentrics, and secured at the top and bottom by horizontal screws G2, provided with jam-nuts to 'hold the cross-head or frame in an absolutely rigid condition.

The vertical piece F' is provided with projecting ears F2, to which is hinged one end of a link, E, which passes through the opening in F', straddles the shaftB, and passes out through the opening in F, which opening is larger than the said link, so as to permit the latter to have some lateral play. The link E has a bifurcated end, t", through which passes the screw t', that engages with the split end of the'shuttle-leverG, that rests in said bifurcation.

At the joint of the shuttle-lever and link E all lost motion is compensated for by screw 'i drawing together the bifurcated end of link E, said screw't' forming the connecting-pivot for lever C and the set-screw z'"', which draws together the split end of lever C around the screw-pin t'. By this construction I am enabled to get a direct longitudinal thrust on the operatiug-eccentrics for the shuttle-lever, and there is no rising or falling or irregular movement whatever to produce irregular wear of the eccentrics. The slight oscillation necessary for bar E is provided for in a slight enlargement of the opening in the vertical piece F. All lost motion due to the wear of the eccentrics G Gr and vertical pieces F F' is taken up by the horizontal screws Gr2 and theirjamnuts.

The fulcrum of leverG is any desirable pivot, W W', adapted to take up wear, and is sustained in the bracket D, which is secured to the bottom of plate A. In compensating for wear, a nut upon the end of the pivot of lever C, if screwed up tightly, would tip the bracket D out of a vertical line and interfere with the perfect workin g of the machine. Hence Imake this bracket D removable, so that when the bearing wears I can remove the bracket and dress downthe surface adjacent to the bedplate, so as to reduce in realityits length and get a true movement.V

In order that bobbins may be woundwith facility by a friction device bearing against the fly-wheel, and without wearing the moving parts'ot' the machine, I have provided a means for readily rotating the fly-wheel independently of the main shaft. This I accomplish by making the interior of the hub of the ily-wheel with a cylindrical chamber, 2', and in the edge of such chamber cutting two recesses, 2" 2", opposite each other. In a hole bored longi- IOS 1rov

tudinally and centrally in the shaft is a loose pin, Z, through which passes a drive-pin, 2','

projecting beyond the surface of the shaft stanti` pressure of which holds zit l outwardlyA against a set-screw, lawhich controls `the position of pin Z. t If theset-screw is withdrawn until the spring pushes the pin `Z outwardly sufficiently far for the projecting `ends of the drive-pin a' to engage in the recesses `2"intthe j 4edge of the chamber 2', then the ily-"wheel will hekeyed to the shaft and the rot-ation of one causes the rotation of the other; butit the pin Z is pushed inwardly` until the projecting ends ofthe drive-pin z' enter chamber 2'then there is no clutching contact between the shaft and the iiy-wheel, and the'latter alone turns.

I am fully aware that many deviceshave` i5 been made to perform this same office in va-` rlous machines. Hence Lmake no broad claim` to any special elementrecited,but confine myself tothe combination and arrangement of the mechanical elementsshown and described. The upper tension is on the upper side of the arm, and consists in a post, a, which carries a cross-arm, 67, (see Fig-1,) at the ends of which aresecured, on vertical pivots, a pair of automatically-adjusting friction-plates, 17 17, z5 against which the passing thread is held by meansof two otherfriction-plates,c c', fastened to the ends of a spring-plate; 65, through the centerof which passesa set-screw,22,into post a, by means of which the sprin gtorcesplates a' a' 3o against the plates 17, and the `tension on the .thread passing between the said plates and` through guides66 and 68 `is increased or diminished at will. The'inner faces of plates a' necessarily change in the vertical plane of position as spring 65 is released or depressed,

and as they change the pivoted friction-plates 17 change with'them automatically by means of the conveyed pressure, and thus the' friction-surfaces always remain absolutely paral- 40 lel. The spring 65 has slots az on each side of the center, through which project guide-pins 16 to keep it in position.

I will now describe my take-up mechanism.

On the end of a rock-shaft, 60, oscillatcd from the main shaft, and just within` the faceplate, I loosely pivot the head A' of my takeup arm 12, the lower end of which is provided with a hook,d', to hold the thread. In the head ofthe take-up arm,concentric to the pivot, is

5o cut a curved slot, 64, and into this slot projects a stud,63, from the head ot' the rockshaft. This studoperates the take-up arm 12 from the rock-shaft, and is in such relation to the curved slot that when the rock-shaft is at its lowest depression the stud bears against the lower end of the slot, and viceversa. A

spring, 18, has one end secured to the head of the take-up arm at the point n, and the other i end to the head of the machine-say at nZ--and 6c is arranged to keep al constant but varying tension on the head of the take-up arm l2.

lWhen the take-up arm is at its lowest depression the tension of spring 13is greatestand in a line above the center of the pivot of the head, so that it tends to keep the take-up arm down after itis once depressed. As

the rock-shaft is ,vibrated `the spring holds `the arm down till stud 63 strikes thie upper end of slot 64 and, overcoming the stress of spring 13, lifts the take-up arm. This movement transfers the .tension ofthe spring across the centertof motion of thehead of the takeup arm and in a line below the center, at the `same time obviously weakening the tension by allowing the spring to shorten. i lt will be seen that in this position the spring will hold up arm 12 with anelastic or yielding force until with the needle before the needle enters the goods, and obviates all necessity for a threadcontroller, and the pause at the end of the lower movement is to allow the u shuttle time to pass through the loop without strain on the thread, and obviates any liiting of the shuttle from the cradle. i

To avoid frequent use of the oil-can, I provide the bed-plate at desired points with recesses cut into the surface of said lplate to contain oil, and have minute ducts to convey the oil to the surfaces to he lubricated. For illustration, I have shown these recesses at-P', provided with covers P2, and having ducts p p p' p'. leading to the shuttle-race and the bearings of the feed-bar.

Topartially destroy or counteract t'henoise caused by the vibration of the bed plate, I provide recesses in the bed-plate with a packing of fibrous or other material calculated to IOO destroy the resonance of the machinegand in t -inotion caused by wear may-be taken up, I

provide such shafts-1i), for instance-with a split coinpressible bushing surrounding the shaft, and having its interior surface couf'orming to the shape of the moving shaft. and its exteriorv tapering or conical. The thicker end of this bushingl rests against a shoulder, t, on the interior of the outer or supporting box, T', andtover it ts a nut, t', having an interior surface corresponding to the taper of bushi ng t2, and an exterior-threaded c vlind rical surfaoe'which screws into the tapped outer or supporting box. The nut is somewhat shorter than the bushing, and the opening in its head is ot' a size not to come in contact with the shalt. So, also, is the opening q through the lower face of the supporting-box T', in order` liIO that the. shaft shall come only in contact with the tapering bushing t2. A spiral split passes once or more around the bushing t2, and when the interior surface ot' said. bushing wears away, by screwing down the nut t' the taperthe shuttle to the friction devices.

ing bushing is evenly compressed throughout its length and tightened around the shaft.

I am aware that heretofore split compressible bushings have been used with compressing devices constructed like those shown and described by me. I am also aware that a diagonal split has been made in such compressible bushings; but I am not aware that heretofore such bushings have been made with a spiral split passing once or more around it, and I therefore confine my invention to such specific construction.

The shuttle, Figs. 7 and 23, is an open-faced shuttle dressed at the heel and point in a curve parallel to the curve of the race, while intermediately the face is either straight or a curve of a larger radius than the curve of the race, whereby the face of the shuttle does not touch the race between the heel and poin t, and the shnttlethread'r may be passed without danger of abrasion directly over the face of These I'riction devices consist of a set of pins, l l l, set in line, aroundwhieh the thread is rove, and another pitt, l', out ot' line, around which the 4 thread is last passed, so that the thread passl been cutaway.

ing the pins in opposite directions will not rub or chate, as in other shuttles now in use, where pins are used in about the same manner as tension devices.

A latch, I., hinged near the point of the shuttle and provided with a slight bend near its hinge and with a springarm, L', closes down over the tops of the pins and rests its .free end on a ilat projection, m", so as to prevent the latch from coming in contact with the top ofthe shuttle and binding the thread. A spring end. m', ofthe latch catches in the hole m, and the same, kind of a device on the end of spring-arm L' catches in hole m'". This spring-arm prevents the shuttlethread from getting between the shuttle and the race. The upper edge, q', of the face of the shuttle is made convex to compensate by the curvature for the unwinding of the bobbin irregularly, as

has been before done by curved devices, but none where the edge of the shuttle proper has Hence I confine myself to this precise construction in this particular.

I am aware that the use of cams on the main shaft to cause a machine to feed the work in one direction while the ily-wheel is rotated in either directionis old. l am also aware that an eccentric has been used to move the feed in the same direction the ljy-wheel is rotated. I therefore do not claim either application of cams as broadly new. y

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. ln a sewingmachine, the combination, with the feed-bar and driving-shaft. ofthe feedcams consisting of the cam u2, keyed to the shaft and provided with a semicircular groove or depression, 51, and the cam u', provided with the stud 52, entering the groove 51, where-` by a lost motion between the cams of a halfrevolution is permitted,vfor the purpose set forth.

2. The cams u' a2, having an engaging groove and stud, the cam u' being provided with vrecess 75, in combination with a movable locking-pin, Z', and a set-screw, O, for operating the same through the interior of the shaft, as described.

3. In a sewing-machine having a variable direction of feed, the feed-barM and the yoke M', in combination with the adjusting-bar 9 and the abutments 4 and Q, substantially as specih'ed.

4. The main shaft B, provided with the eccentrcs G G, in combination with the crosshead reciprocating in a horizontal plane connected to and in combination with the shuttlelever U, substantially as set forth.

5. The actuatingcrosshead,consisting of the vertical pieces F F', in combination with the horizontal screws Gr2 and eccentrics G G, substantially as set forth.

6. The vertical piece F, having ears F2, to which is keyed lin-k E, in combination with link E, havinga bifurcated end, and projecting through an opening in piece F' laterally larger than thelink E, whereby said link has a lateral play entirely independent of the cross-head, substantially as described.

7. The cross-head F F' and G2 and the link E, having a bifurcated end, and screw i, projecting through F, in combination with the shuttle-lever having a split end, all constructed, arranged, and operated as set forth.

8. The main shaft B. bored at its end, and providedl with slots 2 2, in combination with the movable pin Z, having a projecting crosspin, and a ily-wheel provided with the cylindrical chamber 2', having offsets 2", and setscrew h, substantially as described.

9. 'Ihe upper tension device consisting of post a and bar 67, carrying pivoted lrictionplates 17 17, in combination with central setscrew, 22, slotted spring-plate 65, frictionplates a' a', and pins 16 16, all constructed, arranged, and operated as set forth. y

10. The take-up arm having a head provided with a curved slot, 64, and the rock-shaft 60, p'rovided with 'a stud, 63, projecting through slot 64, in combination with springNlS, substantially as described.

11., The bed-plate A, provided withl recess to contain oil, and ducts p p' to condctthe oil to the surfaces to be lubricated, substantially as set forth.

12. In a sewing-machine, the bed-plate provided with chambers, in combination with vthe inclosed fibrous or other non-resonant material for the purpose of deadening the sound, as described.

13. The compressible tapering bushing t2, provided with a spiral slit passing once or more than once around said bushing, as described. v

14. In a sewing-machine shuttle, the pins IIO ` l llin line, in combination with the pin l' out 17. An open-faced shuttle having its heel of line withpins l l, for the purpose specified. and point dressed to coincide with and bear 15. IIn a sewing-machine shuttle, the latch against the curvature of the race, and the iu.

L, provided with a slightl upward bend al: its termediate face cut so as not'. to come in Contact p 5 hinge, in combination with the anprojeetiou with the race, in Acombination with a. curved I5 `m to preventJ the latch binding Lhe thread, as race, substantially as described.

set forth. CHARLES EDWIN TIBBLES.

16. An open-faced shuttle having the upper Witnesses:

edge'of theface made convex, for the purpose i R. H. MARSHALL,

i "1o set forth. i i W. J. CHICK. 

